


Science Fair

by fizzysugarwrites



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Chapters follow one character per chapter, F/M, Most of the characters will be in the second chapter, Teacher AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-23
Updated: 2017-07-28
Packaged: 2018-11-18 00:47:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11280258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fizzysugarwrites/pseuds/fizzysugarwrites
Summary: An au where the Birds, a few BoB members, and Kravitz are teachers at a school called Starblaster Academy. Shenanigans ensue. I'm taking a break from Reunion Tour 2.5





	1. Begins With A Bang

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first day on the job for a brand new history teacher. Explosions ensue. Barry gets lost and tackled. Lup forgets a sign.

_Why is this school so big??_

Barry was probably lost, but to avoid being a bother to the classes that were in session, he was walking blindly through the halls of Starblaster Academy. This was probably going to be his downfall, but hey. He had to try to get to his first class. But he was- yep, definitely lost. _Pretty sure I walked by that same poster about five times now. This is how I get fired on my first day._ He sighed to himself.

And then his internal monologue was rudely interrupted by a muffled *boom* behind him.

He jolted and turned around. That was the science wing.

_Um??? Is anyone else here that’s actually qualified to-_

His thoughts were interrupted again by various shrieks, coming from the same wing. Same room, actually.

Barry considered bolting away at this point, like he normally would if he heard absurd noises from a closed door. But… they sounded like they could be in real danger, so he put on a brave face and sprinted down to the door it was definitely coming from and threw it open, and that was when his life was thrown into a spin.

Barry threw the door open, and two things happened at once. The first and foremost was that an explosion half-threw him back from the door. The second was that a figure he couldn’t make out in that moment tackled him as whatever it was blew up, and he and the figure fell to the floor with a mighty thud, just barely dodging a rocket that fired out over their heads and crashed harmlessly into the crash mat someone had set out against the lockers. Barry was dazed for a second, not quite sure if he should open his eyes yet. But he swallowed his fear and blinked his eyes open.

Facing partially away from him was an elven woman with short, brown hair with a blond highlight, small hoop earrings, and purple eyes. She looked certainly surprised and a little jarred that he’d walked in when he did, but she was looking behind them, watching as several students poked their heads out from overturned desks. A couple kids were wearing safety goggles and their staring seemed bug-eyed. The presumed teacher turned back to him, and for a split second Barry was just in awe. There was a beat of silence before she finally said something.

“Well, that was a close one!”

She stood up halfway before extending a hand to help Barry up. “What’re you doing around here?” Barry was silent. _She’s really pretty… wait hold on what just happened._

He was trying to internally process what had happened. The teacher finally got impatient and stopped holding her hand out, and instead grabbed his shoulders and heaved him to his feet.

“There we go!” The kids suddenly started cheering at the teacher, so she turned back to them and pumped her fist in the air in triumph. “How about THAT!”

Barry was very confused, but he seemed to understand the basics of what was going on. This science… chemistry… whichever teacher was doing a demonstration that he'd walked up on.

 _I didn't even notice the crash mat. This is probably my fault._ His thoughts were interrupted by the teacher again, who vaulted up onto an empty desk, addressing the students again.

“That, ladies and gents, is why you put warning signs outside the classroom when you're launching firecracker rockets indoors.”

A laugh rang around the room, and a couple of the students started flipping the tables back up. “Write down your observations, I'll get back to you guys in a sec!”

The teacher turned back to Barry and started to move out of the classroom. Barry moved at the same time and got out of her way. She headed for the rocket, talking as she did. “Quite an odd way to meet the head science teacher, eh?” She snickered.

Barry realized he was sort of blushing, but played it off. “Well, uh… yeah, I guess you could say that, heh.”

“I'm… sorry about your experiment… maybe I should've just left it alone…”

“Actually, you helped!”

“I… what?”

“You helped, dude!” She turned back to him with a little grin on her face. “If the door was shut when that rocket went off, the explosion would've been a lot more dangerous to the people inside that classroom, namely my students. I was trying to force the door open when you opened it, but it was pretty much about to fire, so instead of actually thanking you, I got you out of the way so you wouldn't get hit! And now I'm thanking you, so that's all taken care of, eh?” She laughed again, and Barry found himself more flustered again.

“...wow, I never even properly introduced myself. What am I thinking?” Her laugh turned a little… nervous?

She extended a hand. “Lup Taaco, head science teacher at Starblaster Academy. I don't think I've ever seen you before.”

“I'm, ah… new.”

“Oh you're Barry.” Lup smiled again, a little more friendly now. “I was told there was a new teacher around! But what are you doing in the science wing? You're a history teach, right? History and Geography are on the next floor up!”

Barry’s face fell, and Lup noticed. “...you're lost aren't you?” A quiet, almost ashamed nod. Lup was silent for a moment. _She probably thinks I'm not cut out for this. Who am I kidding I'm not cut out for this I mean look at me I-_

“Well, don't sweat it!” She beamed at him and pulled out a map, positioning herself so she was standing next to him, holding it out for him to see. Pretty close. Barold J Bluejeans you are a grown man do not freak out over this. “Lessee... “ Lup traced her finger over the map, then tapped it. “There we go! Take the stairs down the hall, make a left and it’s the second door on the right!”

She pressed the map into his hands. Barry stutteringly tried to give it back. “N-no, this is yours, I don’t-”

“Blue, keep it. You need it more than me.” She shot a quick finger gun at him. “Don’t get almost blown up again!” And slipped back into her classroom and closed the door. Barry stood dumbstruck for a second, his feelings a mix of relief, flusteredness, and some sort of happiness. That just happened. As he headed up the stairs, something hit his mind with the force of a cement truck. _...fuckin hell I’m in love aren't I._

Well his pink face as he walked into his first classroom certainly was a sign.


	2. Lounging Around

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lup starts to come to terms with some feelings. Taako interrupts. Barry forgot lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is in the sort of perspective of Lup!

It was lunchtime. Time to take your mind off the lessons and just… get to know the people you work with. And that was Lup’s new goal: to understand the man behind the spectacles that was the new history teacher. Barry was something of a mystery to her, despite her being literally the first person he interacted with here. From Lup’s perspective he was a nervous guy that had been laid off a bit too many times to be any good for his self-esteem. Said self-esteem was probably thrown off even more by the fact that he got lost on his first day, and almost got hit in the face with a firecracker rocket. Lup intended to cheer him up.

  
“Why?” That was the first question out of her twin’s mouth, which was also a bit full of food. Lup looked back up at Taako, nose wrinkled.

“Taak, one that's gross, and two… I feel like he deserves it? I mean he didn't do anything wrong, and well… he's a sweet guy, he shouldn't feel like it was his fault.”

“A sweet guy, huh?” Taako raised an eyebrow. Lup furrowed her brow and puffed out her cheeks… hiding a blush?

  
“It is _not_ like that. I'm just stating facts, if you'd met him you'd probably think the same.” She crossed her arms in defiance. Taako put his sandwich down and swallowed his food.

  
“Well don't look now but here he comes. Took him long enough to find the lounge.”  
Lup, aptly, turned around and looked at the door as Barry walked in, glancing around to hope that he hadn't drawn too much attention to himself.

When he turned to look at her, she very quickly whipped back around to Taako. Not even hiding the blush this time. The other twin smirked. He silently stood up, making eye contact with Lup the whole way.

_Taako Taaco if you are doing what I think you're doing Im gonna kick your-_

“Hey newbie! Barry!” Taako called, finally breaking gaze as Lup sank into her chair with a silent groan. Barry perked when he heard his name. Taako waved him over to where they were sitting, which oddly enough had an extra chair.

 _Alright Lulu play it cool play it cool play it cool._ Lup was thinking a sort of mantra to herself as Barry sat down.

“H-hey! Again…” Barry had the most nervous smile on his face. _Stop being adorable._ Lup bit her lip but nodded quietly. Taako just sipped his coffee before speaking.

“So, how goes it? How goes your first day?” Barry sort of… looked at the floor.  
“I ah… got lost. And interrupted a cla-”

“That's not true,” Lup cut him off. “You didn't interrupt it at all! Blue if you didn't come when you did a LOT more harm could've been done. You saved us from that!”

Barry looked a little taken aback at all this- albeit yelled - praise. Taako had the perfect smirk on. Lup realized what she was saying and quietly turned away from Barry. “I mean- well I'm not wrong- I-”

“...thanks,” Barry quietly said. Lup turned back around to him. His smile seemed a little less uncomfortable, and he was sort of blushing like he was embarrassed. _How the fuck do you manage to be so goddamn endearing???_  
“...don't sweat it, Bluejeans.” She gave a little reassuring smile. His face seemed to get even more flushed.

“So how'd you find your actual job bit?” Lup asked, trying to continue the conversation.  
“About as good as I hoped. I had it… mostly under control.” Barry smiled sheepishly, fidgeting with his shirt. Lup opened up her own lunch.

“You got anything to eat, Blue?”  
Barry’s face fell. “Oh… shit.” He started fidgeting a bit more violently. “Now I'm probably not gonna last all day.” He turned his head down towards the floor for a second, muttering something.

“(Dammit Barry why are you screwing up so much on your first day I'm so gonna get-)”

Lup silently grabbed his hand, opened it, and pressed a granola bar into it. She was speaking a little quieter now.

“Eat this. These things are what I lived off of my first few days on the job. And about today: don't let it get you down. Everyone sucks on the first day. Frankly, you did better than everyone else by being something of a hero, but hey. You got this.” She patted his shoulder quietly and sat back in her seat.

Taako looked between the two of them. You could just see the gears turning in his head. Lup shot him a look, then got up. “I'm gonna go clean up the mess I made. See you guys later!” She shot another finger-gun at Barry, then turned and briskly headed out, only to put her back to the wall of the lounge, analyzing the fact that she was so incredibly flushed that something was definitely up.

_Don't tell me that I'm falling for him…_

Lup looked peeked back inside to see him laughing at something Taako said, and she quietly just melted. _…Gods fucking dammit._


	3. A Pair of Detectives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boy detective and his best friend get on the case. Lup reconsiders. Barry gets some supposed help. Taako spills some beans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The new character, Chey, is named after GalaxyThief872 for being a great reviewer and greater friend!

Angus McDonald Taaco was spying. Again. It was commonplace when you spent so much time hanging around the teacher’s lounge after school. He’d seen Aunt Lup completely tackle Mr. Bluejeans, who was apparently the new history teacher. Angus didn’t have history until Wednesday, so he hadn’t formally met Barry yet. But he knew the person, and said person was talking to Lup again. Angus tucked behind a file cabinet and watched.

“So, how’d the rest of the day go?” Lup asked as she worked on her packing up. She had this whole new air about her, it was like she was just a bit more upbeat today.  
“A lot better actually! And you were right about the granola bar - I only fell asleep once, heh.” Barry rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. _Okay, so it’s instantly clear from his mannerisms that he has fallen_ **_hard_ ** _for Aunt Lup._ Angus made a mental note of that, and turned away from them to realize he was not alone in his snooping. “Ah! Chey!” Sure enough, his elven friend was standing squarely behind him, grinning like a cat.

“Afternoon, Sherlock,” Chey mused.  
“You startled me.” Angus grumbled a little, but in reality it would probably be better to have two sets of ears investigating. He silently pointed around the file cabinet towards Lup and Barry. Chey craned her neck and then nodded, tucking herself behind a chair. Now they could both be listening.  
“Well, good on you for picking yourself back up!” Lup nudged Barry with her elbow and he chuckled a little. She was grinning back at him, and finished packing away all her things as she slung her bag onto her back. Lup turned back to him, and opened her mouth as if to say something. But then she closed it, looking very intently at a spot on the wall.  
“...what?” Barry turned around to look at where she was staring.  
“Nevermind, nevermind.” Lup waved her hands dismissively, but Angus could tell exactly what she was aiming to ask. Then she turned away and headed for the door. _Cmon, Aunt Lup, don’t just sell yourself short!_

“See ya tomorrow Blue!” She shot yet another finger-gun as she slipped out the door. Barry waved a little, but once she was out of sight he slumped against the wall, covering his face with his hands. _Poor guy._ Angus exchanged a glance with Chey, and they silently agreed on their next action. The pair of them approached Mr. Bluejeans. “Heya!” Chey exclaimed, a little too loudly. Barry completely jolted up. Angus shot her a look, but she just shrugged. “Whoops. Sorry to scare ya!”  
“Uh. Sh-shouldn’t you two be l-leaving? S-school’s already out-”

“Don’t worry about it. What we were going to mention to you was about my aunt.”  
“Your… aunt?”  
Angus extended a hand with a cheerful smile. “Angus M. Taaco, at your service.” Barry leapt up from the floor. “Lup is your _aunt?!_ ”  
“Yep! And we know how you feel about her, and if anything we want to help,” Angus grinned up at him.  
“I… don’t know what you’re talking about, Angus. I don’t… I mean, she’s a brilliant colleague, but it’s not what you’re insinu-”  
“Listen, Mr. Bluejeans,” Chey cut him off, hopping up to sit on a table. “We saw what your reaction was to that. You knew what she was gonna say almost as much as we did.” She had that knowing look in her eyes, and Angus silently gave her a thumbs-up. Barry looked between the two of them for a second, then sighed a little.

“You’ve got nothing to worry about. From what we’ve seen she’s not going to hold back much in this.” Angus’ ear pricked when he head someone calling for him. It was Dad. “... just don’t worry too much! I gotta go.”  
“Later, Ango!” Chey gave a little wave as Angus headed off in the opposite direction, towards the door.

 

Later that night, at dinner, Taako was grading something at the table while Angus was working on his English assignment. Miss Lucretia certainly put the kids to the test.

“You know, Miss Lucy was eating a banana earlier this morning.”  
“...okay?” Angus had heard many a gripe from Taako regarding school, as he was the Food Design teacher, but never anything about bananas…

“She just… didn’t even peel it.” Taako looked absolutely horrified just talking about it. “Just straight-up bit the top off. That was horrifying.” Angus shuddered at the thought of it. “Just… cronch.” Angus nodded, looking down at his homework.

“Oh, this one’ll get you good: your aunt had a run-in with none other than your new history teacher!”

Angus perked up at this. He was intending to get to know what Aunt Lup felt about this. Taako took a long sip of his wine and continued, absentmindedly checking stuff off on the paper.

“Apparently she was pulling another rocket stunt in her lab for her class when the door got jammed. There were a lot of pre-fire explosions that apparently set Mr. Blue into ~action~.”

Angus snorted.

“So this guy barges into your aunt’s classroom just as the rocket fires, and-” Taako noticed the sly little smirk on Angus’ face. “...pumpkin, you already figured this out, didn’t you.” He matched the smirk.

“Well, I won’t be telling the rest of the story, then. If you really wanna know it all you can ask Lulu by yourself.”

“Awwwwwwwwww but daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad,” Angus fake-whined a little.

“No buts, kiddo.” Taako checked off a final thing and headed upstairs to his office, leaving Angus to his own devices.

_...well if I’m gonna be doing this I need a few extra sets of eyes and ears._


	4. Announcements, Artists, and Advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kravitz becomes a double-act romance advisor, while the science fair looms ahead.

“ _One more thing: be sure to sign up for the annual Starblaster Science Fair happening next week! Ask for Miss Taaco to get a sign-up sheet or pick them up by the office._ ” And the PA Davenport voice clicked off as students began packing their bags. Kravitz nodded to most of them, but stopped Celina as she was about to leave.

“Uh, what’s the problem, Mr. K?” Cel shifted her wings a little.

“You were just the person I was hoping to see today! Got over that cold, huh?” He smiled good-naturedly. “I was actually asked by Mr. Nizhehuss to contact you about some poster art.”

Cel’s wings flared slightly at that. “Oh! He wants me to do the poster art?” She grinned. “Oh wow! I’ll talk to him about it! I have him first lesson!”

“Well, go on then!” He ushered her out with a wave. “Wouldn’t want to keep him waiting, eh?”

“Right, right! Bye!” And Cel headed down the hall after Anders and Kadin, who were already farther ahead of her.

* * *

 

Kravitz sighed thoughtfully, then headed back inside the music room, sat down at his piano, cracked his knuckles, and got to playing for a bit. He didn’t have any lessons until after lunch today, because of how the schedule worked out. So he was taking his time out to do some therapeutic piano. Then came another knock at his door. “It's open,” he called, continuing his music. Lup walked in with a somewhat distressed face. Kravitz, for some reason, didn't react. She moved over to the single couch that was in the music room and flopped, face-first and dramatically, onto it.

“Is it him again?” Kravitz mused, still continuing his playing. It had been about a week since the new history teacher was put into place, and this was about… the sixth time Lup had come into his room? _She has really fallen for him,_ he thought. _And I guess that's what she's so worked up about. But back to the now._

Lup answered his question with a muffled groan. “Whyyyyy can't I just tell him the words I’m attempting to form UGH FEELINGS ARE DIFFICULT”

“Mmhm.” Kravitz finished his song and turned around on the piano bench to face her. “Well, that's always true. How do you think I feel about Taako?” He cracked a sheepish grin at his words.

Lup turned her head to face him, her face unamused. “Yeah but you actually have a chance with Taaquito. Meanwhile I get too flustered around Barry. It's ridiculous.”

“Didn't you attempt to ask him about the science fair last week? I left early, and you never really told me how that went.”  
_“Horribly,”_ Lup grumbled, finally driving herself to sit up as she folded her arms. “I couldn't even bring myself to actually say anything and just up and left without a word. Even _he_ could tell it was awkward. I looked like an idiot.”

Kravitz pursed his lips in contemplation. “Well. Are you going to try again?”

“I mean I _want_ to but it's probably-”

“You've still got time. Hell, you're the one running the entire fair, you could _use_ some help. Have that as your alibi to get closer to him.”

Lup gave him a skeptical look. “And why would that work?”

“Because it's something you can bring up at work, that doesn't seem suspicious, and can be used in casual conversation.”

“...why are you good at this.”

“It's a talent.” Kravitz stood up as the next bell rang. “You've got a lesson to attend to, i presume? Go do that, then try talking to him at lunch. Good luck.” He nodded quietly.

“Holy shit. Thanks.” Lup held her hand up for a high-five as she left, which Kravitz gladly returned. And as she sauntered back towards the science wing, picking up speed as the clock ticked, Kravitz returned to his piano. Who knows? Maybe he'd just started something between them. He chuckled lightly to himself.

_Good luck, Fireball._

* * *

 

Not three minutes after Lup left the music wing and Kravitz settled back into Fantasy Beethoven, someone knocked at his door again. “It’s open,” he said, the number coming to a close as the door opened and it was revealed that Barry was standing there. Looking… perplexed. Kravitz’s eyebrows went up. “Well this is new. Cmon in.” Barry heaved a small sigh of relief and walked inside. He sat down on the sofa and sighed again.

“How's Starblaster life treating the newest, Barry?” Kravitz asked, turning around to face him on the piano bench. Barry chuckled a little.

“It's uh… treating.” Barry shrugged, pushing his glasses back up onto his nose. “Still feel like a bit of an alien around here. Don't get me wrong, aliens are _awesome._ But I feel like it's a pretty rough thing to be considered. Constantly feeling like an outsider, only partially sure of your actual status within the community…” Barry trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck. “Aaaaand there I go rambling.” He leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling in… embarrassment.

Krav shook his head. “No no, I'm not bothered. I rarely get anyone going on about things they're interested in. Hell, _I’m_ usually the rambler. It's nice to meet someone else who can do what I do.” He flashed a genuine smile. Barry seemed to relax a bit, but still stared at the ceiling and sighed sort of… resignedly.

“Maybe so,” he muttered, “but I doubt I’d be so readily accepted by everyone else.” _Like Lup..._

“Like… Lup?” Kravitz echoed, feigning confusion and surprise almost flawlessly. Barry had the sudden realization that he'd said that last bit out loud. He jolted back up. “I- I mean! Uh… Well- I meant-”

Kravitz waved his hands in a sort of ‘you don't have to explain’ gesture. “I'm not here to accuse you of anything, Mr. Bluejeans. If anything I'll give you some advice: try getting involved in the things she likes.” He thought for a moment. “Like the science fair.”

Barry looked at him like he was crazy for a moment, then something clicked. “I could offer to help. With the science fair.” He jumped up from his seat. “I- I've gotta go. You will not regret this. I'll help you with Taako sometime. Thank you.” And he bolted out of the open door. Kravitz leaned on his hands thoughtfully. Then two thoughts struck his mind. _Holy shit they're both going to ask the same thing to each other what have a done_ and-

“How the hell do you know about Taako?!”


End file.
